New Zealand, Denmark, Finland and Sweden top the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index 2011

Perceived to be the most corrupt are:

Iraq, Sudan, Turkmenistan,Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Myanmar, North Korea and in the absolute lowest position of 182 countries ranked, Somalia.

....see the Ethicsworld CPI page

G20 reports on Tax Havens... see Money Laundering

“We are thrilled to see the G20 taking the issue of illicit financial flows seriously,” said Raymond Baker, director of Global Financial Integrity.  “Secrecy jurisdictions provide a safe haven for the ill gotten gains of kleptocrats, criminals and tax evaders.  They destabilize the world economy, bankrupt developed and developing countries alike, and facilitate the financing of trafficking and terrorism.”

“Those who profit from financial secrecy will be very happy with the weak level of transparency agreed today. Although the G20 has acknowledged the need to tackle corruption and secrecy, they will have to step up their efforts in enforcing practical measures that force money-launderers and tax evaders into the full light of day,” said Angela McClellan, G20 Senior Programme Coordinator at Transparency International.

MAJOR ANTI-CORRUPTION AGREEMENTS REACHED BY THE SUMMIT LEADERS AT THE GROUP OF 20 MEETING IN CANNES - NOVEMBER 4, 2011

from the final communiqué

We have made significant progress in implementing the Action Plan on combating corruption, promoting market integrity and supporting a clean business environment. We underline the need for swift implementation of a strong international legislative framework, the adoption of national measures to prevent and combat corruption and foreign bribery, the strengthening of international cooperation in fighting corruption and the development of joint initiatives between the public and the private sector.

 

US Insider trading scandal - former head of McKinsey, Rajat Gupta, is charged.

Mr. Gupta surrendered to the FBI on October 26, 2011, on being accused of leaking information to Sri Lankan-born old friend Raj Rajaratnam, the former hedge fund tycoon now serving an 11-year jail term for using insider information in his investments. Some of that information allegedly related to transactions involving Goldman, Sachs, the major Wall Street bank where Mr. Gupta was a Board director. Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara stated, "Today, we allege that the corruption we have seen in the trading cubicles, investment firms, law firms, expert consulting firms, medical labs and corporate suites also insinuated itself into the boardrooms of elite companies." Mr. Gupta pleaded not guilty to charges and was released on $10 million bail. The case underscores a major new effort by the New York prosecutors to address corruption on Wall Street.

Should NGOs, UN Global Compact, Academia, take cash from Siemens for anti-corruption projects?

Caught bribing in many countries, Siemens agreed to the largest ever fines (more than $1.6 billion) in 2008 - now, in a campaign, where it places its name front and center alongside the World Bank as a leader in anti-corruption (see quotes in our story), the German industrial giant is providing $40 million in grants to assorted organizations. Many NGOs believe than it is unseemly to take cash for this purpose from a firm that is using heavy self-promotoing publicity to create its anti-corruption credentials. The United Nations Global Compact is the largest single recipient of this Siemens "conscience cash"...see its statement

Radical Whistleblower Proposals May Have Enormous Impact
Mary Shapiro, Chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission is leading efforts to strengthen US corporate transparency and accountability. The SEC Proposes major Incentives for Whistleblowers ...see Whistleblowing

More than 260 companies sent a letter to the SEC warning that the whistleblower provisions could turn financial fraud into a “gold mine” for employees, according to the Wall Street Journal.

One whistleblower gets $96 million: On October 26, 2010, the US Justice Department announced a record settlement with pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline where it agreed to plead guilty and pay $750 Million to resolve criminal and civil liability regarding "manufacturing deficiencies at its Puerto Rico Plant. As part of the resolution, the whistleblower - Cheryl Eckard - is to receive approximately $96 million from the federal share of the settlement amount..see the full Justice Department report..

Wikileaks, Human Rights and Business - a provocative blog Faris Natour at Business for Social Responsibility ...see Views & Analysis

Eva Jolly wins Global Integrity Award for "Exemplary Leadership." The European Parliament Member was honored in Washington DC on December 10, 2010, for her tireless work against corruption and fraud...see Awards.  

Stanford, Harvard and Dartmouth lead Top 10 US Business Schools when it comes to ethics and social responsibility...see Surveys and Trends

The TRACE Due Diligence Guidebook: Doing Business with Intermediaries Internationally...see Compliance

Transparency International - 2010 Global Corruption Barometer. Corruption has increased over the last three years, say six out of 10 people around the world. One in four people report paying bribes in the last year. More than 91,500 people in 86 countries and territories were surveyed, making it the only world-wide public opinion survey on corruption...see TI Surveys

Transparency International Chair Huguette Labelle welcomed the Group of 20 Summit's "Anti-Corruption Action Plan" -- the first of its kind ever - but stressed that the leaders now have to "walk the talk" and that TI will be actively monitoring the G20 member governments to determine if they indeed implement the Action Plan, which they agreed on November 12, 2010, at the end of their Seoul meeting. See - Group of 20 issues Anti-Corruptioin Action Plan

See TI strikes out at stolen assets and See NEWS of TI Membership Resolutions and French Supreme Court supports TI-France/SHERPA actions to expose stolen assets of three West African dictators.

See 2010 TI Integrity award Winners

TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL'S 2010 CORRUPTION PERCEPTIONS INDEX178 Countries ranked - ...see TI Surveys

SUSTAINABILITY Cancun's Depressing Climate Change Conference Strengthens the Case for Business to Show Ethical-Environmental Leadership. From the pen of Geoff Lye: "To borrow the title of John Elkington and Pamela Hartigan’s 2008 book The Power of Unreasonable People, perhaps the time has come to call on Unreasonable CEOs to step up to the challenge. Unlike democratic governments, CEOs can lead and inspire rapid and massive actions to reduce emissions. Just consider how quickly WalMart has moved from a slow follower to global business leader in squeezing carbon out of its supply chain; no government could move as quickly or as efficiently. And Unilever’s Paul Polman’s recent pledge to double their business while halving their environmental footprint is nothing less than a paradigm shift in their underlying business model. (see full article)